Review: Melchior Lorichs, a 16th century Flemish artist, produced a unique, panorama of Istanbul
in 1559. The full length of the complete panorama is about 12 meters and it encompasses the shores of the
Golden Horn, which is filled with sailing-ships and boats darting this way and that, from Seraglio Point
to Eyup. The images are 45 cms high. Lorichs filled the scenes of this incredible work with lavish
details of the Byzantine and Ottoman monuments that adorned the city at the time, its picturesque
dwellings and the topography of the city.
Lorichs' panorama is being printed on handmade paper using a unique printing technology. The panorama
will be folded and presented in a box exquisitely bound in cloth and leather. On special order, copies
can be supplied in specially-designed hand-operated wooden-scroll box, such as would have originally been
used to view the panorama. Only one hundred copies of this unusual work will be produced. A Panorama of
Istanbul by Lorichs – 1559 is scheduled for release in February 1999.
